Making a Film

I’ve mentioned in passing that I’m currently studying on a university course – I’m also involved with the university’s Film Production Society.
Members of the Society are mostly involved in the film-making and animation courses, and there’s a lot of talent in these areas, with animation being a university specialty. (The university will be hosting an annual animation festival this week, which is apparently very prestigious in the animation industry. Speakers include Gail Simone and Rhiannon Pratchett, who even I am vaguely aware of.)

While I’ve picked up a few things about cinematography and lighting during Society meetings, the main purpose of the Society is, unsurprisingly, to produce films. The second film of the academic year is currently in pre-production… based on a script I knocked together. Based on the skill I’ve seen others on the course display on previous projects and practice sessions, and the quality of the acting in auditions, the end product might actually end up being half decent in spite of my involvement.

Okay, now that I’ve knocked myself down and praised the skill of others involved, I’ll admit that I think the finished script is actually sort of not that bad. It’s a superhero spoof (which admittedly will fill some people with dread) in an original superhero universe but playing off some recognisable superhero tropes. With superhero stories being pretty much everywhere these days, there should be an appeal for viewers who both enjoy and hate the genre.

Our superheroes aren’t QUITE as transparently ripped off from famous ones as this.

At the time of writing we’ve been through two rounds of auditions, and it’s really cool to see some talented actors performing my words, and interesting to see different takes on the same character. I’ve heard it stated that a script is a blueprint, a starting point rather than a finished product, and this was evident from the different takes on the characters given by the actors.
Even in the audition stage, several of the auditionees either took my vague ideas of how the characters should behave (which I hoped came across in the writing) and developed them into a rounded and believable person, or gave a character a level of depth that I don’t think was there in my words.

Superheroes! should be filmed and edited within a month or two (I literally have no experience in judging how long it’ll take) – I’ll link to the finished film as soon as it’s available.